Jeanette
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Jeanette specialises in regulatory law and is well known for her retail finance and consumer law expertise, as well as GDPR and Anti Money Laundering expertise. She leads a varied practice, serving both national and international clients.

When asked who her typical client is, she says simply “there isn’t one”.  Her clients range from FTSE 100 businesses to small start-ups, investment and private equity firms and FinTech providers.

In addition to advising retail and wholesale financial services providers on compliance and risk, Jeanette represents a range of businesses from all sectors: from retail to restaurants and manufacturers to housebuilders.

Hands-on and proactive

Jeanette describes her approach to client work as diligent, focused, commercial and timely.  She likes to ‘think outside the box’ and is recognised by clients for her responsiveness and attention to detail.

It’s the problem-solving element of her work that Jeanette finds most rewarding; being able to deliver solutions for clients to help them achieve their aims. This, combined with Jeanette’s detailed knowledge of market sectors and a pragmatic approach to finding solutions, means that clients know “she is good at getting to the end goal”.

And when things don’t go to plan, Jeanette tries to be calm, methodical, sensitive and collaborative. “I have a varied role being a full-time fee-earner as well as head of the team and a member of the Board. This involves wearing a number of different hats and being pragmatic where necessary”.

“Every day is different”

Dealing with regulators and managing crisis situations from dawn raids to product recalls can be challenging, but being able to deliver the right results is very satisfying.  For Jeanette, this means understanding her client’s business fully, so that she can tailor her advice to best meet their needs and provide practical, commercial advice which factors in their long term as well as short term goals.

People potential

For Jeanette, one of the most rewarding parts of her job is tracking the progress of people through their careers from paralegal or trainee on to more senior positions – in some cases even partnership.  She says: “it’s enormously satisfying to see people develop and fulfil their potential knowing you have helped play a part in their career success”.

Different perspectives

Jeanette grew up in Yorkshire and originally planned to pursue a career with the police, following in her Dad’s footsteps.  But after doing well academically (she was the first person in her family to go to university), she decided to pursue her interest in criminal justice by reading law at university. Although her career path brought her fairly swiftly to commercial law, she brings a variety of different perspectives to the table, having spent time working in the City at DLA Piper, with the UK Financial Services Authority enforcement team and as an in-house lawyer with Provident Financial plc.